About
This plant flowers during the summer, producing flower buds enclosed in thin, papery capsules that reveal rounded clusters of densely packed, pale purple blooms. The stems can reach approximately 1 meter in height. It features broad, blade-shaped leaves that are grey-green in color.
About the genus
Allium consists of bulbous herbaceous perennials characterized by a pronounced onion or garlic aroma. They feature linear, strap-like, or cylindrical leaves that arise from the base. The flowers, which can be star-shaped or bell-shaped, are arranged in an umbel atop a stem that lacks leaves.
Growing conditions
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil type
- Chalk, Clay, Loam, Sand
- Soil pH
- Acid, Alkaline, Neutral
- Soil moisture
- Moist but well-drained, Well-drained
- Aspect
- North-facing, West-facing, South-facing, East-facing
- Exposure
- Sheltered
- UK hardiness
- H6
Plant details
- Plant type
- Bulbs
- Habit
- Clump forming
- Foliage
- Deciduous
- Height
- 0.5-1 metres
- Spread
- 0.1-0.5 metres
- Time to full height
- 1-2 years
- Suggested uses
- Cottage and informal garden, Wildflower meadow, Wildlife gardens
- Native to
- S. Europe, Caucasus, Iran, Turkey, N. Africa
- Fragrance
- Foliage
Care notes
- Cultivation
- Easy to grow wild leek in fertile well-drained soil in full sun. Add grit when grown in clay soils to improve drainage. See allium cultivation
- Pruning
- No pruning required
- Propagation
- Propagate by seed, sowing in containers in a cold frame when just ripe or in the spring
- Pest resistance
- Generally pest-free
- Disease resistance
- May be susceptible to onion white rot and downy mildews